Wonder Boys unable to ride out stormBETHANY, Okla. – Nick Wayman turned in a 12-point effort, while Clarence Willard scored 11 points from the bench, but the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team (8-7, 4-3 Great American Conference) were unable to get into an offensive rhythm, falling 70-62 to Southern Nazarene (8-6, 4-4 GAC) on Saturday. The two offenses struggled to gain a footing through the first fifteen minutes of the contest, with both teams shooting below 30 percent f...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Late season can be rewarding for bow huntersMost deer hunters are hanging up their guns and bows for the year and thinking about other things. I am not in that category and have always enjoyed hunting during the late season, because it’s a great time to be in the woods. While the odds of killing a mature whitetail diminish greatly during the late season, just filling a tag can be a great accomplishment. As of recently, it’s been much more of a challenge than I’ve ever seen. While I love...

Hardcore anglers don’t mind the freezing tempsYes, I know the temperatures to start 2015 have been scary cold, but you also have to understand the mentality of the hardcore bass fishermen. All cold weather does for an angler is present one more challenge and make for some uncomfortable conditions. As for this angler, as I have gotten older, I have become quite the fair weather fishermen. But as tournament angling goes, you have to fish on the dates the directors set. That’s just the way i...

Portis scores 32, Arkansas beats Vanderbilt 82-70FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Bobby Portis is rarely one to talk at extended length about his personal success on the basketball court. The Arkansas sophomore is perfectly comfortable, however, letting his growing list of achievements make his case as one of the Southeastern Conference's best. Portis continued his emergence on the national stage with a season-high 32 points and the No. 23 Razorbacks won their seventh in a row, beating Vanderbilt 82-70 o...

Arkansas' Smith signs new 3-year contract; others sign dealsFAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith has signed a three-year contract, one of six Razorbacks assistant coaches to agree to new contracts following the school's first winning season in three years. Smith, who helped Arkansas (7-6) improve from 76th to 10th nationally in total defense this season, will receive $750,000 next season, with raises of $50,000 in each of the following two seasons. The former Rutgers and Tampa ...

Little Johns take last-second victoryDANVILLE — The Danville Little Johns defeated the Sacred Heart Rebels 54-52 on Friday inside Little Johns Gymnasium. The Little Johns overcame a slow start after falling behind 24-14 after the first quarter. Danville outscored the Rebels 27-16 in the second and third quarters to go up 42-40 going into the fourth. Jay Trusty made two free throws with four seconds left and Sacred Heart missed a half court shot on the buzzer to give the Little Jo...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Pottsville announces Colors Day CourtThe 2015 Pottsville High School Colors Day queen will be crowned before the Apaches game against Dardanelle on Friday. The Colors Day Court is (from left): junior Emily Jennings, daughter of John and Debra Jennings, senior Erica Lackey, daughter of Allen and Amy Lackey, senior Monica Lindsey, daughter of Raymond and Linda Monica, senior Allison Risner, daughter of Brad and Leah Risner and sophomore Jordan Wright, daughter or Russ Wright and St...

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Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Apaches defeat OzarkPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Apaches defeated the Ozark Hillbillies 52-39 on Friday inside George Jones Gymnasium. The Apaches led 14-6 after the first quarter and 24-18 at halftime. After the third quarter the score was 33-29. “I’m really proud of the guys because we were playing without our starting center Andrew Rushing, who turned his ankle this week,” Pottsville head coach Shane Thurman said. “When a guy like that is out, everybody has to ...

Golden Suns throttle SNUArkansas Tech University turned up the defensive pressure and extended its women’s basketball winning streak on Saturday afternoon. The nationally 18th-ranked Golden Suns forced Southern Nazarene University into 27 turnovers and routed the Crimson Storm 87-44 at the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla. It was the fourth consecutive win for Arkansas Tech (12-1 overall, 7-0 Great American Conference), which improved to 5-0 on the road in 2014-15. Tec...

Hocker keeps NFL dream aliveWhen Zach Hocker was cut from the NFL's Washington Redskins prior to the 2014 football season, his dream of playing professional football seemed on the rocks. Hocker had signed a $2.1 million contract with the Redskins, but the team elected to go with veteran kicker Kai Forbath instead. Hocker, who grew up in the halls and on the fields of Russellville High School, always wanted to play a professional sport — he just had no idea it would be fo...

Witt wins 2014 Tri-County Defensive Player of the YearDARDANELLE — Sand Lizards head coach Josh Price has a few ideas on why Dardanelle outside linebacker Parker Witt deserves the 2014 Tri-County Defensive Player of the Year Award. One word: versatility. “We would play him at defensive end, outside linebacker and then he’d be back on the hash against some spread teams as a free safety. He did an outstanding job at all three spots,” Price said. True, Witt didn’t wrack up the enormous numbers he co...

Dardanelle falters late, loses heartbreaker to Arkansas BaptistDARDANELLE – The Dardanelle Sand Lizards let a late three-point lead slip from their grasp Friday night as they fell to Arkansas Baptist 45-42 in heartbreaking fashion. The Sand Lizards took a 42-39 lead with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter on a lay-up by Luis Depaz, but the Eagles scored the last six points of the contest to come away with a 45-42 victory. Dardanelle had a chance to tie the game on its final possession, but Jorge Carranza’s 3...

Lady Cyclones earn first conference winThe Russellville Lady Cyclones defeated the Alma Lady Airedales 47-40 on Friday inside Cyclone Gymnasium during both teams' 7A/6A-Central Conference opener. Addy Hipps knocked down seven points in the first quarter to help the Lady Cyclones (5-9, 1-0 7A/6A-Central Conference) wrestle a 19-9 lead from the Lady Airedales. Russellville led by as many as 13 points, but saw its lead dwindle in the second quarter. Alma outscored the Lady Cyclones 16...

Cyclones come up short against AlmaOne point. The Russellville Cyclones had 5.1 seconds to score one point during their 55-54 loss to the Alma Airedales inside Cyclone Gymnasium. Alma gained the advantage from the free-throw line moments earlier and had forced the game into overtime by the end of the fourth quarter. The Cyclones got the ball to Carlos Stiger just inside the 3-point line, but Stiger's shot was off the mark and Russellville opened 7A/6A-Central Conference action ...

Lady Eagles down DardanelleDARDANELLE – The Dardanelle Lady Sand Lizards surprised the Arkansas Baptist Lady Eagles for 16 minutes Friday, but the Eagles regained composure and defeated Dardanelle 44-19. After holding Arkansas Baptist scoreless in the first quarter, Dardanelle took a 15-12 lead to the half. However, the Lady Eagles used a 23-2 third-quarter run to take control of the contest. Shelbi Tharp broke the ice for the Lady Sand Lizards with a 3-pointer with 7:0...

Elite 8: All QBs still in playoffs have strong pedigreesThe NFL playoffs don't include any "game managers" or quarterbacks who are still in the hunt solely because they're surrounded by a great defense or running game. The eight signal callers still chasing the Super Bowl have strong pedigrees. Seven of them have either won a Super Bowl or been picked first in the draft, or both. The eighth, Tony Romo, was the league's top-rated passer this year. "You look at the eight quarterbacks left and every s...

Wonder Boys shoot past RangersALVA, Okla. – D.J. Jethroe turned in a 20-point, eight-rebound performance, Mike Balogun added 14 points, while Nick Wayman added 10 as the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys (8-6, 4-2 Great American Conference) took advantage of timely shooting in a 76-58 win over Northwestern Oklahoma (2-11, 1-5 GAC) on Thursday. Defense led the way in the opening minutes of the game, with the Rangers inching to a 5-4 lead with 13:21 to play in the contest. However, ...

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Paul Smith, Director of Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RHS wrestling wins twoThe Russellville Cyclones wrestling team picked two wins on Thursday inside Cyclone Gymnasium during their first home meet of the season. The Cyclones defeated Benton 46-26 before defeating North Little Rock by a score of 54-27. Russellville will be in action next on Jan. 22 against Van Buren and Little Rock Christian.

RHS to host 'Night of Champions'Russellville High School will be hosting the ninth annual “Night of Champions” on Friday as the Cyclones and Lady Cyclones basketball teams take on the Siloam Springs Panthers in a 7A/6A-Central Conference match-up. Classmates, family members and friends are invited to attend as the 1985 state championship basketball team members, coaches and cheerleaders will be recognized. A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the RHS Commons area.

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Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley